Things are going from bad to worse in Canada's capital.

One day removed from trading the face of their franchise, the Ottawa Senators announced Friday that forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau will miss at least six months after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in his right leg during training on Thursday.

Pageau registered 14 goals and 29 points this past season, primarily serving as Ottawa's third-line center. His best season came in 2015-16 when he led the league with seven shorthanded goals.

The Ottawa native is best known for his playoff heroics, netting a hat trick in the Sens' first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens in 2013, and scoring four goals - including the OT winner - against the New York Rangers in the second round of the team's magical run to the conference finals in 2017.

Pageau, 25, signed a three-year, $9.3-million contract last summer.

His injury will likely result in an increased role for newly-acquired center Chris Tierney and could open up a spot for former first-round pick Logan Brown on the team's opening-night roster.

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Corey Crawford's status for the Chicago Blackhawks' season opener remains uncertain, but he does appear to be trending in the right direction.

The goaltender is expected to take the ice Friday morning on the club's first on-ice day of training camp, a source told The Athletic's Scott Powers on Thursday night.

Crawford last played in late December and reportedly dealt with vertigo-like symptoms before returning to practice in February and ultimately being shut down for the rest of the season.

Chicago's No. 1 netminder said in late July that he still wasn't 100 percent healthy but that he had made progress.

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It could be a tough road ahead for veteran forward Scottie Upshall, as the 34-year-old failed his training camp physical with the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.

Upshall is attending Oilers camp on a professional tryout offer. While the failed physical doesn't automatically end the tryout, it did reveal a knee injury that will prevent Upshall from participating in the coming weeks.

The Oilers are slated for eight preseason games, beginning Monday against the Calgary Flames, and will open the regular season Oct. 6 versus the New Jersey Devils.

In 63 appearances with the St. Louis Blues last season, Upshall tallied seven goals and 12 assists.

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For nine seasons in the Canadian capital, Erik Karlsson's offensive creativity captured the imaginations of Ottawa Senators fans.

Following Thursday's trade to the San Jose Sharks, the Swedish sensation will now be taking his show to the Bay Area. Still, it's not too early to revisit some of his finest moments suiting up as a Senator:

The knuckleball

The Edmonton Oilers are known for scoring goals, but it was all Karlsson on this play, as the two-time Norris Trophy winner went end to end through a group of Oilers and fired a knuckleball by Oilers netminder Ben Scrivens.

Playoff performer

After Karlsson missed nearly the entire 2012-13 campaign with an Achilles injury, he'd have been forgiven for playing at a slower pace in the playoffs. But that wasn't the case in the opening round against the Montreal Canadiens, thanks to Karlsson's ability to simply take over shifts. The Senators went on to beat the favored Canadiens in five games.

The bank shot

Typically reserved for the billiards lounge, this crafty bank shot stretched nearly the entire ice to set up veteran forward Milan Michalek. The winger scored a nifty goal in his own right, but the play will be remembered for Karlsson's wizardry.

All eyes on Erik

Karlsson played through the 2017 postseason on a fractured heel, but the injury seemingly didn't take away from his ability to pull off the incredible. Here, he took the Boston Bruins for a ride before setting up Derick Brassard for a magnificent game-tying goal in Game 2.

Hail Mary hero

Dumping the two-line pass rule opened up more creative avenues for puck-moving defensemen. Karlsson took it to the next level on this play with a Hail Mary setup that landed right on the tape for former teammate Mike Hoffman.

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Clarity surrounding Sergei Bobrovsky's future with the Columbus Blue Jackets apparently won't be coming any time soon.

With training camp here, Bobrovsky, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2018-19 season, spoke with media about his murky status going forward.

"After last season, I told the situation to the management of the Blue Jackets, so they know everything," Bobrovsky said, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. "They know my plans for the season. They know my plans for the future. They know everything.

"They know exactly what we're going to do."

Predictably, Bobrovsky declined to offer any specifics, but he did say he won't negotiate a new contract during the season - matching the sentiment of teammate and fellow 2019 UFA Artemi Panarin.

Bobrovsky is undoubtedly Columbus' most important player. Since joining the club in 2012-13, the 29-year-old has won 176 games with a .923 save percentage and 24 shutouts to go with two Vezina Trophies and two first-team All-Star selections.

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You won't see Cory Schneider's name on a lineup card this preseason.

The Devils netminder continues to rehab from offseason hip surgery and will be sidelined for all six of New Jersey's exhibition games, general manager Ray Shero confirmed to NHL.com's Mike Morreale.

Shero added that he's not sure about Schneider's status for the Devils' regular-season opener against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 6.

The 32-year-old netminder battled a nagging groin injury last season that limited him to just 40 games. Backup Keith Kinkaid stepped up in Schneider's absence, putting together a 26-10-3 record across 41 appearances.

However, Schneider returned in time for last year's playoffs and impressed through four appearances against the Tampa Bay Lightning, posting a 1.78 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage.

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Erik Karlsson is no rental in Doug Wilson's eyes.

The San Jose Sharks general manager envisions the superstar defenseman as part of the club's future beyond the upcoming season.

"It's a long-term approach and we think Erik fits for now and for a long time," Wilson told reporters, including The Athletic's Craig Custance, after landing Karlsson in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

The all-world blue-liner is a pending unrestricted free agent entering the final year of the seven-year, $45-million pact he inked with the Senators in 2012, at a cap hit of $6.5 million.

Karlsson didn't want to talk about the likelihood of an extension with the Sharks when asked about it in the aftermath of the trade.

"As for right now, that's a private discussion and not something I'm going to elaborate on," he said on a conference call Thursday, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika.

The Sharks have some decisions to make for 2019-20, as 34-year-old captain Joe Pavelski and 39-year-old franchise fixture Joe Thornton are also pending UFAs.

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Contract negotiations between the Vancouver Canucks and star forward Brock Boeser are officially on the backburner.

After beginning preliminary discussions about an extension in late August, Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Thursday that the two sides will now wait until the end of the 2018-19 campaign to finalize a deal.

"(Boeser) loves playing in Vancouver and wants to be here long term," Benning told Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet 650. "At the end of the day, we both agreed that he will play out the last year of his entry-level deal. At the end of the year, we'll circle back and figure out a deal long term."

Despite appearing in just 62 games last season, Boeser tied Daniel Sedin for the team lead in scoring with 55 points. His 29 tallies finished second among all rookies, trailing only Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor, who netted 31 goals.

That sort of production could mean Boeser is due for a major raise. This season, the 21-year-old will carry a $925,000 cap hit, but he can also pull in another $850,000 in performance bonuses.

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